1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a docking station for a portable computer, and, more particularly, to a docking station for a portable computer alternating between a wired local area network (LAN) connection and a wireless LAN connection by providing a LAN connection part and an Access Point.
2. Description of the Related Art
A separate device such as a docking station has been used so that a portable computer such as a notebook computer can perform functions comparable to a desktop computer. Accordingly, the docking station has a separate power supply part, and can include: serial ports to connect input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard to the docking station; a LAN connection port to which a LAN cable can be connected to access an external network such as an Internet; and a peripheral port to connect output devices such as a printer or an external display apparatus with the docking station. Also, the docking station can be connected to an external storage apparatus such as a floppy disk drive (FDD) or an optical disk drive, so that the portable computer can be used in a manner that is similar to the desktop computer.
FIG. 4A illustrates that a portable computer 100 having a wired LAN adapter (not shown) is mounted on a docking station 110 so that a user can have wired access to an Internet or the like in an office or a home by using a conventional portable computer 100. When a user has wired access to the Internet by using the portable computer 100, a LAN cable 202 connected to an external network through a hub 200 and allowing a LAN signal to be transmitted therethrough, is connected to a LAN connection port (not shown: generally, a RJ-45 LAN port) included in the docking station 110. Accordingly, according to a 100Base-T of LAN specification, a network can be accessed with data transfer rates supported up to 100 Mbps. FIG. 4B illustrates that a user wirelessly accesses an external network such as an Internet by using the conventional portable computer 100. As shown in FIG. 4B, the LAN cable 202 connected to the hub 200 and used to access the external network such as the Internet is connected to a LAN connection port (not shown) included in an Access Point 300 generating a wireless LAN signal. Accordingly, because a wireless LAN adapter (not shown) included in the conventional portable computer 100 can receive and transmit the wireless LAN signal generated in the Access point 300, the network can be wirelessly accessed with a data transfer rate supported up to 11 Mbps according to an IEEE802.11b wireless LAN standard.
Like this, conventionally, an Access Point, an apparatus that can transmit a wireless signal, needs to be used so that a user can wirelessly access an external network including the Internet by using a portable table computer having a wireless LAN adapter. Thus, if a user wants to change a wired LAN connection to a wireless LAN connection, the user must disconnect a LAN cable from a docking station and then connect again the LAN cable to the Access Point, which may be a troublesome and time-consuming job.